Wife on the Farm

Walking Around Lakes

I've run and walked on the roads in our farming neighborhood so many times that it's becoming a bit boring.  On Wednesday, I decided to walk a large square route - almost two miles long on each "side" of the square.  It took me west on 86th Avenue along Lake Labish (it's a lake in winter; farming fields in summer) then  north via Roanoke Road, Sequoia Road and 72nd Avenue, before hitting Waconda Road.  Instead of turning around and returning home the way I came, I looped back home by heading east along Waconda Road.  There was so much fog that day that I didn't get to see as much as I'd have liked, but I'll make this loop again someday.

Today, I had an appointment at my dentist's, whose office is located on the shore of Staats Lake, a manmade lake in the middle of a development in north Keizer.  It's a beautiful setting and I've always wanted to walk on the paved path that surrounds the lake, so today I did.  I wore my running clothes to the dental office and after my dental cleaning, I added a jacket and hat and away I went.

There were dozens of ducks and geese on the lake and they noisily entertained me for my entire workout.  I'm sure they must expect to be fed, because they swam right up to the water's edge, looking at me expectantly for some lunch.

It's been a good workout week.  I ran a little, walked a lot and got to walk through a couple new places.

Seven Miles

Seven miles today, mostly walking except for the last mile.  I had to run a little to shake my hips and legs a bit.  They were getting pretty tired of walking.  This is a record for me - the farthest I've ever walked since I started running and walking last year.  And I'm over halfway to my goal of walking 13.1 miles in the Eugene half marathon in May - just fourteen weeks from now.

The fog was horribly dense all day today.  I kept waiting for it to clear a bit, so that I wouldn't become road kill, but by 2 pm I figured if I didn't get out there I wouldn't finish until almost dark.  Dark + fog is not a good combination on country roads with no street lights.

Now I gotta go make the hot chocolate I just earned.........

One Year on the Road

Last year, my son convinced me to try running a 5K fun race.  I would never have imagined myself running a block, much less over three miles, but I actually caught the running bug and completed four 5K races last year.  Today marks one year of being out on the road.  I walk more than I run these days.  A nagging shin splint injury kept me from running since my last 5K in October.  I switched to walking in November and am training to walk a half marathon in May.   I've been inserting short jogging intervals into my workouts this week, and my shin feels pretty good, so I'm hoping I'll be running more than walking during my short workouts in the coming months.

What's even better about my new walking life is that it's become a family activity.  My oldest grandson and I have run three 5K races together.  Although we don't all live in the same town, my grandson, my daughter-in-law and my son-in-law have also run and walked with me and we're all training to participate in the 2011 Shamrock Run in Portland again this year.  What a fun and healthy way to hang out together!

I'm happy and proud to have reached this one-year mark. Thanks, Greg, for giving me the motivation to get myself out on the road last year and for being my best cheerleader.

 

Walking Into 2011

No resolutions for the new year.  But I do want to continue at least one thing that I started last year.  I began running - run/walking actually - last January and I've managed to stick with it an entire year.  I enjoy the obvious benefits of dropping a few pounds and fitting into my clothes better.  But I have also come to really treasure my hours out on the roads.  I'd rather have a walking partner, but I live out in the country and I haven't found any neighbors who are into this sort of thing.  So I walk alone.

I load up my iPod with a new album or use one of the music streaming sites I can access on my iPhone and off I go.  The music entertains me, allows me to get in the groove or completely zone out - sometimes a little of both during my walk.  Because of a recurring shin split injury, I'm walking more than I'm running these days, but I'm averaging twelve miles a week.  My mileage is gradually increasing because I'm training for a half marathon that I've signed up to walk in May with my daughter-in-law.  A couple of years ago, I never would have believed that I'd be doing something like this, and I really wouldn't have believed that I'd be enjoying it as much as I do.

The older I get, the more I'm discovering things about myself that I never knew, like enjoying the running and walking.   It sort of makes growing older not such a bad thing.